whitman



Jan. 5, 1932. F. H. WHITMAN THREAD GAUGE A TTORNE Y.

Patented dan. 5, 1932 srars PA-'rant FRED H. WHITMAN, 'OFIVILWAUKEE WISCONSIN, ASSGNOR T0 A. OV. SMITH GORPOR-A- p TON, OF IVILVTAUKEE, VSCONSIN, Al CORPORATON OF YORK THREAD GAUGE Application led March 12, 1928. Serial No. 260,873.'

The invention relates to a device for gauging external threads, and its purpose is yto produce an external thread gauge including various novel and improved structural characteristics in combination'adapted to render the device particularly e'liicient and accurate in the performance of its intended service.

The novel features of my invention Will 1Become apparent from the full description thereoffnow to be made.

' Figure 1 is a front elevational view, par.

tially sectioned and broken away, of a thread gauging device made according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof, on line 2"-2 in Fig. 1, disclosing, in dottedlines, a section of pipe the thread of Which is set in the device ready to he gauged. p

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional View disclosing the manner in Which the metal hand of the gauge is seated in the pipe thread during the gauging operation.

The present'thread gauging device consists, generally, of a housing 10, preferably L of aluminum, for a system of manipulatalole levers 11 associated With .a metal .hand 12, a constant-friction tightener 13 ,for actuating said levers to tension said hand, and a dial compartment 14 having a dial sector 175 and a lamp 16. Y

The housing 10 includes a cylindrical part 17 having spaced and parallel front and rear Walls, designated 18 and 19, respectively, and also includes an annular extension 20, haclr of said rear Wall and perpendicular thereto, for the reception of a threaded pipe, or similar member, the external thread 21 of Which is to he gauged. rlhe front Wall 18 of the housing is an integral part thereof, While the rear Wall 19 consists of an integral inwardly extending annular vflange 22, providing an annular seat 23lfor the pipe end, and a circular plate 24 conveniently attached to said annular flange, in a v manner ynot shown. c p

A fitting 25 secured upon theffront Wall 18 of the housing, as at 26, provides a bearing 27 adjacent a central opening 28" through said front wall, andl said fitting is for a'further purpose to heexplained.

n A short shaft 29, arranged centrallyof the cylindrical part of the housing at rightangles to the front yand rear Walls thereof, has itsforvvard end journaled in the bearing 27 and itsrearvvardend journaled in a central bearing 30 of the plate 24. Y

The metal hand 12 is preferably circular in cross-section, and is ofmateriahof high tensile strength and having a loW coefficient of expansion. 4One end ofsaid metal band is attachedto ajdesirably .adjustable clevis" 31 situated in a pocket 32 ofthe cylindrical part 17 of the housing, andthe length of .the Y metal hand extends circumferentially Within thehousing adjacent a single spiral groove 33 cut on the inner bore of said cylindrical part` 17 `of the housing and adapted to accommodate expansion of. the venveloping metal hand in'order that it can. be applied'r to or released from an external thread. The other end of the metal band 12 is pivotally attached, as at 34, to a-lug 35 integral withv andperpendicular'to a lever 36 adjacent the front Wall 18 and mounted, as at 37, upon the short shaft 29. A bevelgear 38 keyed to said short shaft and located Within the opening 28 of the front plate, is. also keyed to the huh ofthe lever 36, as at 39, to lock said lever 36 upon said short shaft. Y

The dial sector 15 is preferably situated in the` dial compartment 14 tobe about in alignment with thelplate 24, and said dial sector is. desirahly of ground glass lconveniently graduated, as 'at V40.' The lamp 16 is baclrfof the dial. sector, anda sight piece 41 in anA extension 42 of the front Wall of therhousing is transverse alignment With the dialsector and lamp.

A pointer lever 43 rotatably mounted upon the short shaft 29 between the lever 36 and the bearing 30, as at-44, has a pointer 45 adapted to travel across the front ofthe dial sector in spaced relation thereto. A coil spring 46 having one of its ends secured to the pointer 1ever.43,as at 47, and its other end secured to the housing,- as 'at 48, is adapt-` ed to urge, said lever 43 in direction toward the sidej of thehousing having the clevis 31, and a protuberance 49 upon the end of the pointer lever opposite its pointeris adapted l to engage an adjustable sto-p 50 upon said housing to limit the extent to which said coil spring can move said pointer lever.

An actuating lever 51 for the pointer lever 43 is pivotally mounted, as at 52, upon the inner face of the vextension 42 of the front wall 18, and is pivotally associated, -as at 53, with a part of said pointer lever situated not very k.far distant from its axis. A lpin 54, situated inthe lever 51 a short distance from its aXis, protrudes outwardly into the path of travel ofan upstanding hook 55r-upon an integral arm 56 of the lever 36.

ln Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings,ithe metal band 12 and the levers 36', 43 and 51 are all disclosed in' their inoperative positions. Tha-t is to say, `*the `metal band is in its natural vorl expanded condition and lies within the spiral groove 33, and `t-he lever 36 is situated to locate the hook 55 in spaced relation to the pin 54 upon the lever 51, at the lleft of sai-d pin in ,llig. 1. lnthis condition of the part-s, 'a pipe the external thread l21of whicl-i is to 'be gauged isin'serted into the annular extension() of the housing and, as shown,

l against V.the seatf23 at the base thereof.

,",M'e'chanism fojra-ctua'ting `the .lever 36 to Contract the 'metal band 12.1t0 cause it to seat 30 in the pipe thread, as disclosed in'Fig. 3, isV

constituted by the constant-friction tightener 13,'manipulation. of said tightener to contract the band rotating vsaid lever 36 in direction causing the h'ook 55 to move* from left to rightfin Fig. v1, 4toward'the pin 54. Of vsaid constant-'friction tightener, 57 indi- Cates Vdriving.friction discs splined to the inner'borebf ahandle 58 for the thread gauge,

and 59 represents driven'frictiondiscs splined to an arbor '60 suitably journaled in the fitting and having Va keyed bevel gear 161 which Vmeshes with the bevel gear 38. VEach of the "discs '57 issep'arate'd from .the neXt adjacent 4disk 57 on either `side by a disc v59,` and vice versa. 'A coilfspring 62 upon the arbor, between `a' washer 63 splined to said arbor .adj acent the friction discs and a jwasher 64 at the outer portion 'of fthe arbor "and backed'by anut threaded on, the arbor, urges said discs into 'engagement withfan inner,

radial wall 6.6 of the handle and into tional engagement with each other. By

`turning `the nut-65 'onthe arbor'the pressure Y between the discs, and consequently, the driv- Y ingfeffort which vcan be transmitted into the arbor 'bythe handle,.can 'be nicely adjusted. Itwillbe evident vthat rotation ofthe hanh i d-le 58 ,in proper direction will 'cause the bevel gear 61 to 'turn'thelbe-vel gear to rotate the. lever 36 in` direction vfrom *left 'toward right in Fig. 1, to thus contract. ythe metal bandfandjat the same timeY move the'hook 55 toward the'pin 54 upon the llever 51.' The arrangement vis such that when ,said hook reaches Aengaging position with said pin, said metal yband is contracted Vto the gauge of 'a sai-d metal band at this time be seated in an external thread, such as 21, the pointer will ,indicate the gauge of this thread. Provided the threadis of smaller gauge, the lever 36 is caused to move farther to the right in Fig. 1 until the metalband becomes seated .upon the thread. The hook 55, naturally, causes the pinV 54 Vto move with said lever 36, and ythe "lever 51 transmits the motion tothe pointer lever tto ycarry the pointer across the dial sector aga-inst the action of the coil spring 4'6. The position of said pointer with respect to the .fgraduations upon the -dial sectorfwhen `the metal Yband is seated Vagainst a particular thread, will indicate the actual gauge ofsaid thread, as iseVident.

As is 'also evident, levers such as l36, 43 and 51 can have their lf-u'lcrums :and pivots so arranged land related as to magnify any prefer-red number Yof times at the pointer the variation v'in tlire Ypi-tch lines of different threads gauged, the variation being magnified in the particular device shown .about twelve times.

The 'friction disc arrangement of the constant-friction tightener makes provision for piaci-ng vthe metal band 12 under :exactly the same tensioneach time said' band 4is seated to anex-ternal thread, fand 'any attempt toincrease this tension will but cau-se the driving discs 57 to rotate relatively .to the driven discs "59. k v

Having thus described my invention, what I claim ai-iddfesire to secure Aby Letters Patent oittthe VUnited States, is: v

1l. A -gange for extern-ally threaded members comprising la metal :band Yof `4sub'stantial ly circular cross-section having overlapping end porti-ons and adapted rto envelop an eX- ternally threaded member to be gauged, means holding one end'of said band in stationary position, 'a lever attached to the other endof said "band, means for actuating sai-d lever Yto contract said yband to 'cause the same to seat between the threads, 1a f graduated dial sector, pointer associated therewith, and mechanismassociated with said lever and pointer fortransmit-ting the said lever to -said pointer to cause it to `move over said Idial sector, whereby the pointer will indicate the gauge fof la thread upon which said band is seated.

2. A gauge for externally threaded members comprising a metal band of substantially circularcrossesection having overlapping 4 l portions :and adapted to envelop lan eX- ter Alvthreath/ed member, means holding one end of said band in Vstationary position, Va

motion -of las lever attached to the other end of said band,

means for actuating said lever to contract said band to cause the same to seat between the threads, a graduated dial sector, a pointer associated therewith, and mechanism associated with said lever and pointer for transmitting the motion of said lever to said pointer to cause the pointer to have movement over the dial sector of greater magnitude than the movement of said lever, whereby the pointer will indicate the gauge ot a thread upon which said band is seated in such manner that the varie-tion in the pitch lines of ditterent threads gauged will be magnilied upon said dial sector.

3. A thread gauge comprising a metal band adapted to envelop an external thread,

means holding one end of said band in stationary position, a lever attached to the other end of said band, an axis upon which said lever is fixed, means for rotating said lever axis to actuate said lever to contract said band to cause it to seat against said thread, a graduated dial sector, a pointer associated therewith, and mechanism associated with sai-d lever and pointer tor transmitting the motion of said lever to said pointer to cause the pointer to have movement over the dial sector of greater magnitude than the movement of said lever, said mechanism comprising a rotatable `pointer lever mounted radially of said lever axis and having said pointer, resilient means normally holding said pointer lever adjacent an end of said dial sector, a-

rotatable actuating leverffor said pointer lever mounted in spaced relation to and extending in the general direction toward said lever axis, a pivotal connection between theV free end portion oi saidactuating lever and an intermediate part of saidpointer lever, a pin upon said actuating lleveradjacent its axis, and means upon the metal band contracting lever adapted to move said pin in direction away from said pointer to swing said pointer across said dial sector, whereby the pointer can indicate the gauge of a thread upon which said band is seated in such mannei' that the variation in the pitch lines of 4diiferent threads gauged will be magnified upon said dial sector.

l. In a thread gauge, a metal band adapted to envelop an external thread, a cylindrical housing for said band and having a spiral groove in its inner bore in which said band is normally situated, means holding one end of said band in stationary position in t1 housing, a lever attached to the other end ot said band, and mechanism for actuating said lever to contract said band to cause it' to be removed from said spiral groove and to seat against said thread. Y

5. In a thread gauge, a metal band adapted to envelopy an external thread, means holding one end of said band in stationary position, a lever attached to the other end of said band, and a constant-friction tightener for actuating said lever to contract said band to cause it to seat against said thread and for preventing tensioning 'of said band beyond a predetermined degree.

6. In a thread gauge, a metal Vband adapted to envelop an external thread, means holding one end of said band in stationary position, a lever attached to the other end of said band, an axis upon which said lever is lixed, and mechanism for rotating said lever axis to actuate said lever to contract said band to cause it to seat against said thread, said mechanism comprising an arbor, a gear connection between said arbor and lever axis, driven friction discs upon said arbor, an operating handle about said arbor, and driving tric'- tion discs upon said handle and interposed between said driven :friction discs.

7 In a thread gauge, a housing, a metal band therein adapted to envelop an external thread, means holding one end ot said band in stationary position in said housing,

a lever attachedk to the `other-end of said band, an axis upon which said lever is iixed, and a constant-friction tightener for rotating said lever axis to actuate said lever to contract said band tov cause it to seat against said thread, said tightener comprising an arbor,a gear connection between said arbor and lever axis, driven Jric-tion discs upon said arbora`handle torsaid housing and about said arbor, driving Jriction discsfupony said handle and interposed between said driven friction discs, and means for yield-` ingly pressing said driving and driven friction discs against each other.

8. A gauge for an externally threaded member comprising a flexible metalrband adapted to envelop the external threads of a member, Aactuating' means to cause said band toengage said threads including means to prevent the tensioning of Vsaid, metal band beyond a predetermined degree, and means asso ciated with said actuating means for indicating the gauge of said threaded member.

9. A gauge for an externally threaded 'member comprising a flexible metal band adapted to envelop the external threads of a member, means holding one end of said band in stationary position, a lever attached to the other end of said band, means for actuating said lever to contract said band to cause the same to'be seated between said threads including means to prevent actuation of said lever to contract said band beyond a predetermined degree relative to said'threads and indicating means associated with said lever for determining the gaugeot' said threaded f member upon which said band is seated.

10. A method for determining the gauge of a tapered threaded member which comprises passing a metallic band around the circumference thereof at a predetermined distance from the end of the threaded member, ex-

ioo

erting a predetermined Vlimited tension yon said metal band to Cause the samel to seat between thethread-s of said member, and registering the lmeasurement 'of the circumference thereof.

11. Agaugeforthreadedmembers compris- Va housing adapted te envelop ga portion of a lthreached member to begauged, a. yshoulder insaid housing adapted toabutthe end'of the member.l a flexible metal band spaced from said shoulder and adapted to `envelop said :member and Ato be seated between the threads thereof, means for causingsaid metal band te be thus seated, and indicating means centreiied by said band-seating means for indicating the kgeringe of the member.

12. A gauge for external-1y :threaded members vComprising a metal 'band having overlapping end portions and Curved `side yfaces adapted to engage opposing faces of adjacent lthreads of a threaded member to be gauged with the opposing faces of the threads tangent tothe curved liaees of the meta-1 band, means kholding ene end of said band in stationary position, a lever attached to the other `end of said band, means for actuating said lever to contract said `ban-d to Vcause the same to'- seat between the threads7 a graduated dial sectonla pointer associated therewlth, :and

mechanism associated with saidv-lever -aI-id pointer for transmitting the metion o'f said lever te said pointer to cause it .to move ever said dial sector, Wherebythe pointer Will iaidicate the gauge o a thread uponwhich said band is seated. 1 Y y In rtestimeny whereof I' have signed -my name at Milwaukee, /Visconsin, ythis 28th day of February, 1928.

v FRED H. WHITMAN. p 

